Funny how
Trivialities tire us most
I could deal with a crisis easily
Would prefer it, even, in small doses
(Crises are one of the things I
Excel at, you know)
But instead I am here, standing behind a counter
And ringing up item after item after
Do you have a store credit card, Miss?
Would you like one?
What a lovely
I could be writing, you know, I could be
And why am I miserable? Is it because
It means nothing? Because I am in a small town
and my friends have all moved away
and there is no one to hug, now, no one to
Kiss
Is that it? Or is it because I’m spoiled, because I think I’m
Better than the work, better than
The women who come in and out more often
Because they can afford to?
Is it because four fifths of the money will go to my mother,
For college?
What is this for? Does its purpose go beyond
Humiliation? I wonder if Snow White
Thought so, a princess cleaning the dwarves’ house
If she ever invited the witch in out of
Desperation — finally, someone else, something to do!
I can’t stay in this house forever.
But tomorrow, all the same, I will go to work,
And not be writing,
And not be loving,
or even learning.
But I have an order to complete, don’t I?
F3, SUSPEND LIFE.
CONTINUE TRANSACTION
AT A LATER DATE.